Kurt Wenner is an American artist known for his 3D pavement art shown internationally.

Early life and education

Wenner was born in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

in 1958, but grew up in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

. He attended

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

and

ArtCenter College of Design The ArtCenter College of Design is a private art college in Pasadena, California. It was incorporated in 1930 as a degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both the visual arts and design. ...

in California. While at ArtCenter he was recruited to work for NASA at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, creating conceptual art. In 1982, he left his job at NASA to focus on his art and moved to Italy.

Career

Wenner learned about the European tradition of street painting after living in Rome for a few months. Wenner added perspective to the street painting work and in turn he created 3D pavement art. His work has been shown in more than 30 countries around the world. In 2010,

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

called for a ban of genetically modified crops by presenting the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

members in Brussels with one million signatures on a petition.Greenpeace EU Petition
/ref> It was the first time the EU members forced a vote by invoking the 1-million member signature rule. Wenner was asked to create a 3D image to commemorate the historical day when the people of Europe stood up, voicing action for no GMO in their food. Wenner's enormous 3D image () was at the center of this historical moment.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wenner, Kurt Rhode Island School of Design alumni American artists Pavement artists Living people 1958 births ArtCenter College of Design alumni Trompe-l'œil artists Artists from Ann Arbor, Michigan